The War
by AshleyofRavenclaw
Summary: The year is 1995 and a war is brewing. Follow eight characters and their families on the journey through the worst Wizarding War in history. Each character has their own personal battles that they need to overcome to fight through the war, to make it out unscathed. Become enchanted as they play their separate roles leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts. It is a story as never told.
1. Summer 1995 - Theodore Nott

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters. They belong to the wonderful mind of J.K. Rowling. **

**August/September/October 1995**

Theodore Nott

The house had not been the same to him for nearly a decade. It was merely a building that he slept in when he was not at school. It was not home. His father was the least loving type of person in the world, not that Theodore ever desired affection. However, there were moments when he felt excruciatingly lonely, and this was one of them. There was no particular reason for it, most of the time it happened without a cause. When most people became lonely they sought the comfort of another human being. For Theodore, he found companionship in his father's library. The old bugger never read the books. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, all of them with layers of dust. Some were as old as Hogwarts, and others were younger than Theodore. All of them remained untouched since the day they were placed on the shelves.

The library was a large room, enough to fit a football stadium (perhaps not that large, but he enjoyed imagining it; in reality it was the size of the old church down the road). Although if Theodore ever mentioned the word "football" his father's friends would blame him for having Muggle relations, whereas he only knew the word from the books; he would never speak of the word in fear for his life but more so for the library filled with secrets, stories, and adventures. He did not understand why people sought adventure when the thrill was surely just as exciting in a novel. He read about Muggle peasants, Muggle wars that affected the Wizarding World, Wizarding Wars, Goblin Relations, and dragons. He always found the history books the most exciting, although there was one in particular that struck him as note-worthy: "The Elimination of Dirty Blood and Muggles: When Purebloods Unite".

The beginning of the book blabbered on about concepts he had heard of his whole life, how Muggleborns stole their powers and how they were breeding with Muggles and other Muggleborns and in some cases even Purebloods, therefore dirtying the blood and making the pureblood families far scarcer. However, the book talked of genocide of sorts, riding of all the Muggleborns, blood traitors, and eventually Muggles. When Theodore first read the pages he had been terrified and shelved the book for a year. It did not cross his mind until the chaos at the World Cup that the book might have been _serious_, that there were some mad devotees to this cause, that someone out there was crazy enough to try and eliminate not just a race, but humanity as a whole! And it was not until after the death of the Hufflepuff at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, when Theodore realized what Death Eaters really were. What sickened him even more was the sudden realization that his father was one of them. He always knew that his father was a Death Eater; however he thought it was just some sort of radical political cause. He never imagined his father would commit serious misdemeanors such as torture and murder.

Theodore found a secluded corner at the far end of the library and picked up the dreadful book, starting on "Chapter 5: The Possibility of a Revolution and How to Counterattack it". He was avidly curious about this topic; it seemed highly likely that soon, within the next year perhaps, that there would be a strike from one of the sides. He was not scared of an attack or a fight; in fact he was intrigued and somewhat excited about it. The thought of chaos was appealing to him, although the acts of genocide were extremely revolting. He learned, through the history books kept in the library, that genocide was not uncommon within the Muggle world, the largest one ever was just fifty years ago, when his father was in his twenties. England was affected by the war taking place at that time, and the Nott family suffered some pain and lost a large portion of their land and wealth. Surely the Wizarding World considered what happened then and learned from it like the rest of the world? Theodore was a Nott after all, so of course he had some aversion towards Muggles and Muggleborns, but he was also human, and a logic one at that. Something a lot of wizards lacked, especially his father. What the Death Eaters were rallying up for would eliminate the race of human kind inevitably. There were not very many Purebloods left, and surely, there was not enough to populate the Earth. Diseases would spread like wildfire and nothing, not even magic would be able to stop it. It was just about the more irrational idea ever conceived and it sickened him that his father believed it.


	2. Summer 1995 - Seamus Finnigan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters. All of that hard work belongs to J.K. Rowling. **

* * *

**Summer 1995 **

Seamus Finnigan

"I cannot believe it!" Seamus Finnigan was just starting on his bowl of oatmeal, which he thought was disgusting, but knew better than to complain about, when his enraged mother tossed the Daily Prophet down on the table. "How could the Ministry still be so thick to keep someone as delusional as your bloody headmaster? I am thinking about not sending you back this year!" Seamus had no idea what was happening. For weeks his mother had been whining about something to do with Hogwarts, but Seamus did not know why nor did he care. He never thought she would think about not sending him back, however.

"What?" he asked, feeling foolishly confused. Perhaps he should have been paying more attention to the news. Surely, if something was to make his mother this annoyed, something big was happening. Besides, she had no right to pull him out of school!

"Don't you what me. Read the bloody paper for once and figure it out for your damned self. Your _brother_ knows all about it, you should as well. And eat your breakfast!" She said no more as she flicked her wand at Seamus' spoon, causing it to dance in front of his face. He rolled his eyes when she had turned her back, swatting at the spoon as if it were a fly. He was beginning to feel annoyed as well, he hated when she insulted him and compared him to his brother, Ciaran, who was well on his way to becoming an Auror. Seamus and Ciaran were no more alike than a Muggle football and Quidditch. Ciaran was handsome and always stayed out of trouble, making the highest marks in his year while he was at Hogwarts. And for Seamus, well he was lucky if he could scrap up a passing grade in his Potions class and finish an essay on time. He also had a tendency to question way too much and backtalk, something his mother could not stand for.

"I feel as if I deserve an explanation if you are threatening to pull me out of school. You let Ciaran finish, I should be allowed to finish as well! Besides, what does Dumbledore have to do with anything? He is never there anyway." Again he swatted at his spoon, hoping that it would fall back down to the table, but it continued to dance irritatingly in front of him. He no longer had any desire to finish off his oatmeal, which was a meal that Ciaran liked, something his mother constantly forgot about.

"Oh, is he gallivanting around now while a school filled with _children_ is left unattended! I am surprised there have been no more deaths with that sort of supervision! I have to tell the _Prophet_ about this immediately." She continued to face the opposite direction, her red hair bouncing as she shook her head angrily. He still did not understand why she was so livid but he was beginning to care less and less. He was just becoming more frustrated with her, especially since she considered him a child. True, he was still shorter than the majority of other boys in his year, but he had a growth spurt over the summer and he also began sprouting some chest hair. He finally felt like he was a man and wanted to show off about it to Dean. But, his mother was acting crude, how was he supposed to prove he was no longer a boy if she was calling him a child!

"Mam, I want to go back to Hogwarts." He thought it was a simple statement, a choice he had to take part in making, but apparently it was anything but. His mother turned around, red in the face, the first and obvious sign that she was passed angry. Maddened was probably the right description. She pointed her wand at Seamus, a feat that always terrified him, and as she spoke, her voice grew louder and louder until it cracked. He wondered bleakly if the neighbors, half a mile away, could hear her.

"You do not understand and don't you dare question me, young man! You sleep in the same room as that Potter creep! Do you not realize the danger that holds? He is going to manipulate you and use you with his charm until you fall into the trap of that delirious headmaster of yours! The two of them together are planning on taking down the Ministry! You think You-Know-Who was bad? Your brother will lose his job! You will have no bloody food to eat! There will be no such thing as Quidditch! Do you not see how this affects you and why it would be brainwash to send you back to that school! You are acting like a fool by not paying attention! DO NOT ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME! I AM TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!"

Seamus thought anything but that as his mother carelessly flicked her wand around as she grew angrier and angrier, catching the tip of his hair on fire. If she did not calm down, she was going to kill him herself. He sat staring, dumbfounded, actually feeling relieved when Ciaran walked into the kitchen and disarmed their mother. It was rare when Seamus was grateful for Ciaran, but in this moment he felt an admiration for him as he stood up against their mother. He saw Seamus' frightful face and tossed a cup of water on the small flames dancing on his head. They did not burn, but all the same he was feeling quiet scared. He looked at Ciaran for an explanation, feeling that he deserved one after being treated this way. His mother commonly got mad but he had never seen her like this. In fact, it made him rethink everything that she had shouted about. Some of it even made sense.

Ciaran sat down beside Seamus, swiping his bowl of oatmeal away and finishing it off. Their mother's wand lay in the middle of the table. "Mam, you really need to be more open minded. Do you really think keeping Shay cooped up from your _theories_ will keep him safe? At least he won't be caught on fire at Hogwarts."

Seamus could not help but suppress a grin. It was unlike Ciaran to ever talk back to their mother, never mind make a joke at her expense. For some reason, Seamus had a feeling that there was a disagreement about the whole Hogwarts ordeal between Ciaran and their mother. Unlike Ciaran though, it took someone who had no sense of danger, such as Seamus, to confront her. She had no more words to say as she left the kitchen, leaving her wand untouched on the table. For a few moments, Seamus did not speak, before he turned to Ciaran for some answers.

"Why is she acting like this? What does she mean Dumbledore is delusional? Is Harry really trying to bring down the Ministry? What would happen to Hogwarts if it did? I knew there was something suspicious about him…" He spoke fast without leaving any space in between questions for Ciaran to answer. He did not even notice that the dancing spoon had dropped down when his brother disarmed their mother. His heart was racing, and he wanted every answer possible. Of course he did not believe that You-Know-Who actually returned at the beginning of the summer, especially since there had been no reported deaths! It was summer so he usually had no interest in reading the _Daily Prophet_ but he did know that there has not been any news about You-Know-Who since the end of the Triwizard Tournament. He agreed with his mother that perhaps Harry was just a traumatized boy and imagined seeing Cedric being murdered by You-Know-Who. Surely he could not be back?

As he expected, Ciaran did not answer his questions. He generally did not tell Seamus much of what was happening within the Ministry of the Wizarding World. Ciaran was intelligent, but he was vague. Perhaps it was the right thing to be. His older brother shook his head defiantly with a sad smile. "I can't give you answers to that, kid. But promise me one thing?" Seamus nodded eagerly, wanting to know what his brother had to say. "Promise that you will remain more open-minded than Mam. Do not believe everything the _Daily Prophet_ has to say. There are things much beyond your understanding happening, political stuff. It would not do you too well to become affiliated with them."

Seamus had no idea what he meant. But it seemed serious. He looked out the window outside, wondering what was happening internally at the Ministry at this moment. Was everything really falling apart as his brother and mother were making it seem? For some reason he felt angry about it. He thought that these things were supposed to be organized and why were Ciaran and his mother treating him like a child? He had chest hair now! He would be sixteen in a few months that is nearly of legal wizard age! At the same time, he felt scared. He looked up at Ciaran one last time before leaving the house to play some Quidditch in the back field.

"Are we going to be safe, Ciaran? You don't really think that You-Know-Who is back, do you?"

Again, Ciaran smiled sadly, and wished Seamus a fun time outside.


End file.
